Analysis: U.S culture hurting EU livers?

By Ed Susman. UPI Medical Correspondent

April 11, 2007

BARCELONA, Spain, April 11 (UPI) -- Fatty liver, a condition that can lead to cirrhosis, liver failure and the need for organ transplantation, appears to be another part of the import of American fast-food culture to Europe, doctors said Wednesday.

"We estimate that in Spain about 2 to 3 million people among the 40 million inhabitants of the country have fat in their liver," said Jesus Prieto, professor of general pathology at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, "and that 25 percent of those patients have developed non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)."

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, often called "silent" liver disease, resembles alcoholic liver disease, but occurs in people who drink little or no alcohol. The major feature in NASH is fat in the liver, along with inflammation and damage.

"We are seeing an increase in this disease across Europe," Rafael Esteban, professor of medicine at Hospital Valle Hebron in Barcelona, told United Press International as the 42nd annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver got under way in Barcelona. "It appears to follow the 'fast food' dining that is now moving rapidly across Europe."

Exactly how many people have the disease is difficult to measure, Prieto said. People with NASH may feel well and are not aware they have a liver problem. However, he added that NASH occurs more frequently in individuals who are overweight or obese and have diabetes.

Esteban suggested that people who have diabetes or are overweight should have doctors carefully monitor liver function tests. Abnormalities in these tests are likely to pick up hints of disease and give doctors the opportunity to diagnose the disorder, he said.

"There is a lot more NASH in the United States," Prieto told UPI at the press briefing, conducted as more than 5,600 clinicians and allied health care professionals gathered for the scientific sessions that continue through Sunday.

Prieto said that NASH is not a benign disorder. "The disease can progress to cirrhosis of the liver and can result in the need for liver transplantation. About 5 percent of the people that undergo liver transplantation in Spain are being treated for complications of NASH," he said.

Cirrhosis causes permanent damage and scarring to the liver, and that can cause the organ to malfunction. In the United States, about 2 to 5 percent of patients have NASH, and another 10 to 20 percent of people are at risk of the disease because of abnormal levels of fat in the liver, although not all of the people will develop an associated disorder, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Esteban said the concern over liver disease has been heightened by recent surveys and reports that children in Europe have a greater rate of obesity, which also tends to parallel "fast food" diets as American-style eateries proliferate.

"These studies in children show us that this epidemic in NASH will continue to expand over time," he said.

In the United States, the rate of obesity in adults has doubled, while the rate in children has tripled in the past decade, probably leading to the increase of both NASH and fatty liver disease. Obesity also contributes to diabetes and high blood cholesterol, which can further complicate the health of someone with NASH.

Copyright © 2007 United Press International.

This article posted April 22, 2007.